CAMBRIDGE — A school health teacher was suspended with pay and a second day of presentations by a staff member from the Pride Center of the Capital Region was canceled after parents of seventh-grade students raised concerns over a handout about transgender topics.

“The parents have concerns, and they are mine as well,” Superintendent Vince Canini said Tuesday.

The school district is investigating whether the teacher reviewed a handout the presenter used with the seventh and 10th grade health classes, he said.

“We have never had this issue before. We may have to make some policy changes because of it,” he said.

Putting the teacher on paid administrative leave was standard procedure, Canini said. He could not identify the teacher, he said, but he confirmed the school has only one health teacher, who is listed as Jacqueline Hall. An attempt to reach her was not successful.

Canini said parents were concerned with handouts from the class. One, meant for seventh-graders, listed “LGBTQ Terminology,” with words on one side and definitions on the other that were meant to be matched with the correct terms.

The terms included homophobia, intersex, polyamory/polyamorous, pansexual, bisexual, cisgender and gender non-conforming. Another handout, meant for the tenth-graders, was 42 pages long and went into detail on transgender issues.

Parent Sirell Fiel, who read from the handout on Facebook Live, said his seventh-grade son brought both packets home. The students in both grades got all the information, he said, and much of it he considered inappropriate, especially for the younger students.

“I have no problem with the school talking about diversity. Gay kids are out there, and the kids need to know about it. But the problem I have is that it went so in-depth. That’s too much for 11- and 12-year-olds,” Fiel said, noting he had called the school and heard back from the principal, who told him the issue was being investigated.

Martha Harvey, president and CEO of the Pride Center of the Capital Region, said she doesn’t know of any previous time schools or parents have objected to the presentation in the 12 years it has been used in schools.

Harvey would not identify the presenter who went to Cambridge school.

“Transgender kids are coming out younger and younger. Middle school is not too early to start,” said Harvey, who noted that her group was invited to present at Cambridge. “If you love your kids, you want them to have the most information possible. If a parent has a problem with this presentation, that’s the parent’s problem.

“This program saves lives,” she added.

Canini said the school principal, Caroline Goss, was aware of the presentation, but had not seen the handout or the specifics of the presentation in advance. Canini said he had received multiple calls from parents of seventh-grade students, but had not been contacted by parents of tenth-graders.

The school district sent a letter to parents from Canini and posted it on the district website. The letter states that the speaker was “uninvited” after the packet was reviewed and the teacher had been placed on administrative leave.

On her school website, Hall lists the topics to be taught in the class, which include “sexuality education.” Under that heading, she lists anatomy and physiology, puberty and adolescent development, identity, pregnancy and reproduction, STD and HIV, healthy relationships and personal safety.

On its website, the Pride Center lists four available presentations, including one on the basics of LGBTQA (lesbian, gay, bisexual, transgender, queer and ally) Youth, one on “Trans* Youth,” and two others — “Dignity for All Students Act” and “Delivering LGBTQA-Affirming Sexual Health Education” for health teachers.

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You can read Bill Toscano’s blog at poststar.com/blogs or his updates on Twitter, @billtoscano_ps.

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(50) comments

From what I can find about statistics of the population that identify as part of the LGBT community, it is about 2% of the population that ID as gay, lesbian according to a Washington Post article. And about .75% of the adult population that ID as transgendered according to a NY Times article. Why is such a small minority of the population being allowed to drive the agenda of what is worthy of valuable classroom time? So now they've come up with a term cisgender to describe those who identify with their biological gender, i.e., they are normal or the largest percentage of the population. Excuse me but this is just ridiculous. The teacher should be suspended for no other reason than wasting tax payer dollars for teaching this crap to our kids.

Wow not sure what is sadder this teacher’s actions, the class curriculum or those defending either in these comments. But let’s call a spade a spade this is not about diversity but perversion period. History shows us Libertine France and Rome were brought down by such lifestyles and it will be the same for us if the agenda is allowed to continue. Parents need to fight this crap on the state level as it starts with the mandated course to begin with. The idea of a phony concept of transgender that does not exist outside of modern drugs and surgery being pushed on sexually confused teens is reprehensible. The same teens that can’t buy beer or vote are now offered to consider a physically destructive change, One has to wonder who is behind this push is it drug companies or LGB groups.Sad and perverse period.

There should be education on compassion. From kindergarten through graduation. That's what is needed. Teaching kids about being kind and how it affects the lives of other kids. Many kids need compassion, for many different reasons.

This explicit stuff is appalling. I'm appalled at the individuals on this thread that think it's appropriate. Should we abolish all sense of morality and conform to the ultra liberal agenda? It's scary to think what society will be like in 20 years.

Bravos to Vince Canini for putting an end to it. Draw up a policy making teacher's get all material and presentations by visitors approved in advance. Bring the teacher back and tell her to follow the policy. Issue solved.

what you call "sense of morality" is just tradition - 50 years ago tradition said the races shouldn't mix and segregation was moral. It wasn't. Teaching kids objective facts as described in the linked material is not "explicit" and serves only as a corrective to the hateful bigotry that Evangelical religion wishes to continue to perpetrate, even when it costs the actual lives of trans and gay kids. The "liberal agenda" here? Acquint students with factual material, and encourage them to be accepting and kind towards those born differently than themselves. That last bit wouldn't be so necessary if so many bigoted and/or religious parents were not utterly failing to do that.

Truth comes from God who is perfect and is shared through imperfect people but that does not change His truth. I am sorry for what you have encountered that has pulled you away from seeing His perfect love for you. May God richly bless you and you are in my prayers.

I was prepared to be sympathetic here about the possibility that 7th graders had gotten 10th grade material but...this is all BS. There's nothing explicit or too mature for a grader in either package refer to here. When I was teaching, I had MOTHERS in my 8th grade class. We need more education, not less

I really did want to defend the teacher... as trying to do the correct thing. BUT after reading the descriptions here I really can not defend the actions if she knew what the material would contain. Even being in the classroom as an observer I would have stopped the presentation... too graphic. Now it bothers me that the distributing organization said other schools had not objected? Really? The argument that knowing the graphic details will protect a student from harassment just does not stand up. If anything I would think it may make them MORE of a target. Count me as one of those not wanting to know how sausage is made. My ignorance is quite blissful.

tere's nothing explicit or graphic about even the 10th grade material as linked here. It's all very clinical and sterile. middle school kids are exposed to much more graphic material in basically every medium of entertainment readily available to them.

Your ignorance may be blissful to you, but then you are not one of those who's life is negatively impacted by widespread ignorance.

we are in a collective state of confusion on this subject.......let me see if this can help.....we have 2 genders...male and female......when children are small they are not sexual....yes they do know what it is.......it is FLAT OUT WRONG to make sexual suggestions to a child.....example...you can be a boy if you want ...even if you were born a girl.....this is child abuse.....what an adult does with their own bodies and minds is their own business.....but this trans gender issue ...must be put where it belongs in the trash.......Hollywood weirdo crazy behavior.....sex is a state of mind .....we must pay for a child until they are 21.....so let it be that these children are protected from this onslaught of confusion ....when they are adult they can decide how they choose sex.......guide them wisely until this time.........https://www.acpeds.org/the-college-speaks/position-statements/gender-ideology-harms-children

Yup. Right thing. Have a kid who's teacher did this all year long last year in class, less distribute materials. Keep your personal ideas to yourself, not preached to very influential children. Glad they were suspended. If you can't push religion, then this falls in the same category. They did the right thing.

Probably the same type of people who believe there are 63 genders -- yes, 63 genders. It's mind-blowing the stuff that is being created and thrown into kids faces. Used to be LGBT -- now it's LGBTQIA and so on.

As a Christian, I am against this education being pushed on children without their parents ok. The left feel they have a right to their beliefs. I, as a veteran, support that constitutional right. But I have a right to disagree, and not have it force fed to me or my grandchildren. To the writer who feels so strong about the "discovery process", why then, not let pedophiles and the KKK into our classrooms, and let them pass out their pamphlets? I think this liberal "PC" garbage should be left out of our educational institutions. With the internet and social media today, any kid can exercise all the "discovering" they want.

The teacher deserved to be suspended - parents had a right to know about this before it took place. This "lesson" went well beyond just giving information and crossed the line into indoctrination by a special interest group. The information was pro-sexualizing and scientifically inaccurate. Gender Dysphoria is a mental disorder which is almost always transient in children (90% recovery rate in the absence of experimental drugs or surgery). Did the speaker give scientific facts or just pop rhetoric? Leave the children alone! Keep special interest out of the classrooms and keep parents informed so they can exercise their rights and duties to withdraw their children from "lessons" that contain age-inappropriate content.

"Gender Dysphoria is a mental disorder which is almost always transient in children (90% recovery rate in the absence of experimental drugs or surgery). "

Objectively false. This myth results from a deliberately flawed study who's methodology undermines the claim. That this nonsense presists among religiously-motivated critics is all the more reason that objective scientific education is critical.

Moreover, even IF it were true that 90% desist (they don't, the claim results from the authors of the study including all sorts of "gender non-conforming" kids in the study cohort, not just kids who professed to be or desire to be the opposite sex) the remaining 10% STILL suffer from the ignorance propagated in claims like yours.

Hell yes that teacher should be suspended! How on earth did she think that was acceptable material to present to 11 year old kids? And if she thought it was, then she shows serious lack of judgement and probably should not be teaching 7th graders. I get that kids need to be taught about diversity and acceptance, and above all to be kind to one another and that bullying will not be accepted. There had to be a better way to present yet abbreviate the topic rather than discussing different names for seminal fluids, how to tuck your penis , and what pitching and catching mean. And that Pride CEO and her attitude that "It's the parents problem (if they don't like the material we force-feed to their children without their parent's consent)" needs to rethink her perspective a bit. I am a supporter of the LBGTQ community, and I found that material to be grossly inappropriate. Her attitude that they are right and parents don't know what is best for their kids is ridiculous. Way to go,

Meanwhile, in TX, my kid got abstinence only sex ed that lasted 8 weeks and ended with her signing a purity pledge. I have no trouble filling in the gaps, but I think my former Warren/Washington Cos neighbors should count their lucky stars that their kids get a comprehensive, honest education.

students who take abstinence only sex-ed consistently have higher rates of pregnancy and abortion than those who take comprehensive course. Kudos to you for filling in the gaps. I taught 8th grade in Mississippi and routinely had mothers in my class (or students who dropped out after 7th grade due to pregnancy) - such is the result of the ignorance that the majority here seems willing to embrace enthusiastically.

This is how it's getting folks. The parents have less rights than they used to when it comes to what the schools are presenting. The left is using this crap as nothing more than indoctrination for the liberal views, and of course, if you speak out, you get branded with the old stand by's, "homophobic", "bigot", whatever. No, the teacher deserved to get suspended and the parents should have known about what was being presented beforehand and if so, allowed to opt their kids out of the presentation. It's a disturbing trend we're seeing.

when you wish your kids to remain conditioned to look down upon and disrespect those who were born with a condition that makes them different from the majority, the label "bigot" is likely the most appropriate one.

Schools are no more obliged to perpetrate your biases in the face of contrary facts now, than they were in Mississippi in the 1960's when the bias in question was that whites were too superior to mingle with blacks.

nothing about the presentation attempts to sway or seduce anyone into any (so called) "lifestyle" EXCEPT the "lifestyle" of being kind and compassionate to those around you who might not be just like yourself.

I'm deeply saddened that education is seen by some as indoctrination. Learning should be about discovering the world as it is and shaping new knowledge in a community--not indoctrination, so I am sad that some have not had that experience--it's uplifting and affirming. I feel a sense of loss when parents assert their own world view over that discovery process, limiting it. More, I have a sense of fear when administrators agree.

no one who actually looks at the material linked above can honestly call it pornographic. Such a one would not only be completely unfamiliar with clinical language but also wholly oblivious to what actual porn looks like.

"They did the right thing. All materials should be reviewed." They did the right thing? Obviously not considering you think this packet WASNT REVIEWED before the teacher AND GUEST SPEAKER presented it? Exactly my point. She HAD the go-ahead to HAND IT OUT. COME ON. use your head! Don't blame the messenger. Blame the authority(superintendent)!

How stupid is this Superintendent and school district. There are many LBGTQ students in their school and community. What is the message these kids are getting? That there is something wrong with you and who you are? This was a chance for them not to feel so alone and unsupported— to have an organization that could answer their questions. Wake up Cambridge!! Just because your community is rural, and in the sticks doesn’t mean your heads have to be! Congratulations to the health teacher for teaching something proactive andvaluable. He or she should be reinstated immediately because he/ she did something right for your school and students.

So just to be clear - you believe it is appropriate for a school to educate 7th graders that what the terms catcher and pusher are in reference to anal sex? Perhaps you think it is important to know how make a DIY penis as part of 7th grad sex education?

Or are you making a judgement without watching the parent's video as to what his 7th grader was given? And assuming that the parents are upset that this was about transgender people.

I don't believe any of the parents have a issue with a conversation about the various genders and acceptance for all. It certainly is needed, we all need to be more tolerant that there are people who have different lifestyles, believes, opinions and views. (psst this means the liberals who think their progress view of the world is the only one that matters also need to respect not everyone agrees with them. That doesn't make one "side" right or wrong, it just means we have different opinions. You know, that tolerance that you like to preach about... it needs to go both ways) This program crossed the line with the in-depth information that was given to all the students. The students who wanted more information should have been given the contact info for the group.

Hopefully all schools have learned a valuable lesson - when you ave an outside speaker, someone in the administration needs to be reviewing the presentation and any materials to be handed out to make sure they are appropriate and on topic.

I'm mystified that so many people seem so convinced that kids in the 7th grade are unfamiliar with these terms. I've taught school and seen more than I'd like to see of pregnant 7th graders (in schools which teach abstinence only and virtually every student is "churched")...I've also heard plenty of first, second, third grade kids calling each other slurs far worse than "catcher"

I'd venture to say that even the homeschooled child of ten has a pretty clear idea of what the physical necessity would be if two men had sex, clarifying terms simply alleviates misconceptions, it does not introduce radically new concepts.

Also, lets be real - if this pamplet had said NOTHING about the terms some use for the roles partners play in physical intercourse, those objecting now would still have been objecting because they carry the illusion that their kids are innocents who have no idea thee people actually exist. That's an inaccurate assumption.

The parent of a 7th grader in the video is reads off the 10th grade packet. Maybe he has a 10th grader too, maybe the 7th grader was given it, maybe the 7th grader got a hold of it. But there's obviously differences in what was intended to be given to 7th & 10th graders

I would say the Superintendent is not nearly as stupid as the teacher, who showed a serious lack judgement here. There really was no other way to teach 11 year old kids about LBGTQ issues and being sensitive to and accepting of others without getting into multiple sex partners terminology, different names for seminal fluids, how to tuck your junk and what it means if someone is a “catcher” in gay sex? Seriously? Kids need to know THAT? No, that teacher crossed a line, maybe not for your kid but certainly for mine, and in doing so actually set back what this school and others will be able to cover on the topic from here on out. In the long run, she really did a disservice to their community here, as did Pride, which is a shame. You would think Pride would have actually age appropriate materials for kids and not a one-size-must-fit-all packet. SMH.

They can't avoid being a platform: either they talk about sex and sexuality and teachers and students are uncomfortable talking about it, or they don't talk about it and being gay remains a taboo and shame-filled topic. Not talking about it sends a message, too, just a different message.

Everyone has different tolerances for 'education' topics such as transgender... but I fail to see the need to SUSPEND the teacher. Throwing the teacher under the bus seems a bit harsh. Bad Decision... maybe? Bad intent? I doubt it.

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